The 2026 ‘Grate’ Drain Race!
An Adopt-a-Drain Challenge
Friendly Competition. Cleaner Water. Less Flooding Risk.
About:
For the first time in watershed district history, two watershed districts are going head-to-head in the ‘Grate’ Drain Race!
Starting August 1st through November 30th, 2026 the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District and the neighboring watershed, Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District are competing to see which community can adopt and clean the most storm drains and make the biggest impact.
Whether you’re adopting your first drain or have already adopted several, every cleaning helps protect our lakes, streams, wetlands, and rivers by keeping leaves, grass clippings, litter, and other debris out of the storm sewer system. A clean drain also helps prevent local streets from flooding.
We’re teaming up with Adopt-a-Drain, a volunteer program where community members can adopt a storm drain and help protect local lakes and streams by cleaning it twice each month. We’ll track adoptions and cleanups through the Adopt-a-Drain website: https://mn.adopt-a-drain.org/
Why It’s Important:
Watch this video from Hamline’s Center for Global Environmental Education to learn more about why adopting a stromdrain is so important:
How to Participate:
- Visit the Minnesota Adopt-a-Drain website: https://mn.adopt-a-drain.org/
- Click the red “Adopt” button.
- Enter your address.
- Claim a nearby storm drain.
- Give your drain a fun name!
Enter your address and adopt a drain—if it’s located within our watershed, we’ll take care of the rest.
You can adopt one drain or as many as you’d like.
Already Adopted a Drain? 
Great! You’re already part of the challenge.
Even if you’ve previously adopted one or more drains, you can still help your watershed win.
From August 1st through November 30th 2026, we’ll also be counting:
- Every drain cleaning you complete
- Every pound of debris you collect
What Will be Measured:
- Total new adoptions of drains
- Total amount of debris collected in the competition period (August-November 2026)
- Number of cleanings in the competition period
- Best name of the drain
Be sure to log each cleaning in the Adopt-a-Drain portal. If you don’t record your cleanings, your efforts won’t count toward the competition totals.
Prizes
There will be a total of 20 prizes raffled off and two individual prizes. Here is the breakdown of each:
- Best drain name (1 winner)
- 100th drain adoption (1 winner)
- Most cleanings (3 winners by raffle, more cleanings = more chances to win)
- Most adoptions (3 winners by raffle, more adoptions = more chances to win)
- Winning watershed raffle (5 winners from winning watershed)
Prizes being given away include:
- Rain Barrels
- MN Arboretum Memberships
- Three Rivers Park District Gift Vouchers
Competition Dashboard:
Keep track of Nine Mile Creek Watershed’s progress weekly through this dashboard:
(dashboard coming soon)
Q & A
Isn’t it the city’s job to clean storm drains?
No! Cities provide street sweeping and storm system maintenance but have no obligation to clean storm drains of any debris.
Do storm drains filter water?
They do not. Storm drains send unfiltered water to our lakes, rivers, and creeks. That means any debris in storm drains goes right to our waterways. This is why keeping storm drains clean is so important!
What is the length of the competition?
The competition launches on August 1st and goes through November 30th, 2026. Adoptions, cleanings, and pounds of debris logged before August 1st or after November 30th will not be counted towards the competition.
I don’t have cleaning supplies, can I still participate?
f you’d like gloves, buckets, safety vests, or other cleaning supplies, let us know.We have materials available to borrow (while supplies last).
Can I win more than one prize?
Prizes are limited to one per household during the competition.
How are you judging the Best Drain Name category?
After the competition concludes, the Best Drain Name will be judged by a panel of three city officials from cities in our Districts. This will likely occur sometime in December.
Questions?
Contact:
Carrie Bush, Communications and Public Engagement Manager, at 952.529.2751 or cbush@ninemilecreek.org
